A Photographer's Sight: The Forest or the Trees?

What does a photographer see?  What is it about a subject or moment that one photographer may stop, pause and shoot and another doesn't notice?

Sheen's Nature Photography

How many times have you used the phrase  "you can't see the forest for the trees"?  In the images above and below, I chose to not see either.  Instead, I was moved by the array of green tints and shades,  soft lines and a wash of shapes.  

How this photo was made:  I stood in a shady setting with no sunlight streaming through. When I pressed the shutter, I gently moved the camera vertically while the shutter was open.  A one second shutter speed is optimal when using this technique.  Settings:  1 second shutter speed, f/16, ISO 100

Sheen's Nature Photography

Walk into an art gallery, museum or go to a multitude of artists' websites and you'll see many perspectives of the same subjects.  Some may be an accurate representation of the image itself, others may take creative liberty and add another layer of artistry.

As in the photo below, I applied dramatic post processing adjustments in Lightroom to modify reality.  These adjustments included contrast, clarity and increased hue intensity.

Sheen's Nature Photography

By seeing through the unique eyes of other artists- painting, drawing, photography, dance -  our own eyes can learn new techniques and ideas of communicating our subjects.

Happy Shooting!